Pull Your Weight
by Tozette
Summary: One-shot, set in a high school AU. Students of Konoha High are required to lift weights during PE. Sakura is... er, stronger than expected. Silly.


"I'M GONNA BE THE BEST," Naruto informed everybody in a three-mile radius. "I'm gonna lift_ ten times_ whatever Sasuke can!"

Sasuke was, tragically, very used to this. He didn't even blink when half the cafeteria flinched and/or turned incredulously toward the fierce bellowing. He did make a low, derisive noise, though, because, really: _as if_. Idiot.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Naruto demanded, whirling on Sasuke.

"Nobody's arguing with you," Shikamaru drawled from across the table - which was only true inasmuch as Sasuke hadn't actually _said_ anything yet.

"He is," Naruto pointed. "He's just not saying anything because he knows I'll prove him wrong the second we get in there._ Ten times_," he added to Sasuke.

Sasuke leaned back and eyed his fingertip, which was very, very close to being up his nose. He batted it away. "Idiot," he said flatly. There was a pause where for a second the table thought that might be the end of it, but -

"As if you could," he sniffed.

Shikamaru heaved a giant sigh.

Naruto exploded. "I COULD BENCH PRESS _YOU_," he yelled at Sasuke, who glowered back - more quietly, but just as fiercely.

Sakura smacked Naruto over the head. His face slammed into the table and left a dent.

"Sakura-chaaan," he said pitifully, clutching his skull and peering at her with huge blue eyes.

"Some of us are trying to study," she reminded him.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard... Hey! You didn't hit this asshole at all!" he pointed at Sasuke again, and this time his finger brushed an eyelash. Sasuke didn't flinch.

"He's not as noisy," said Sakura, without looking up from her biology textbook. "Don't _you_ have a biology test last period, too, Naruto?" she asked pointedly, shovelling a piece of cafeteria mystery meat into her mouth. "I'm not going to let you copy my notes, you know."

"Eh?" he paused. "Crap! CRAP!"

"Idiot." But Sasuke didn't stop him from digging through his bag for his biology notes.

Shikamaru sighed, like even being present for this nonsense was much too exhausting to be contemplated.

* * *

"This is such a stupid class," Shikamaru sighed. He was lazily spotting for Chouji, who was fairly easily benching his own bodyweight.

"It's not hard, though," Chouji pointed out. Of course Chouji thought that, since he could do most strength exercises without effort. He was a giant tank of a person, solid planes of functional muscle covered with a comforting layer of fat.

Mostly Shikamaru just thought he looked comfy for napping on.

(Which he was.)

(In case you were wondering.)

"Lifting heavy things and putting them down isn't really a life skill in this day and age," he pointed out, yawning widely. "It's pointless."

"Ugh, definitely," Ino muttered. She was half-heartedly attending to her curls with a two-kilogram dumbell, and had already regaled them all with her neurotic concerns that she'd "get huge" if she was forced to lift weights regularly. "I mean, isn't lifting heavy things what boyfriends are for?"

Shikamaru eyed her dubiously. "What boyfriend?"

She glared, and opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say was drowned out by Naruto whooping loudly.

"TAKE THAT," he bellowed, pointing at Sasuke and grinning.

Sasuke did, indeed, take that.

He lifted it up.

He brought it down.

It was... heavy.

But doable.

Naruto growled. "Fine!" he went to adjust the weights they were using.

"They're going to hurt themselves," Chouji predicted. Both of the boys had reasonable technique, but their competition would just make them stupid.

"Probably," Shikamaru agreed, sounding significantly less concerned.

"_Naruto_ will," Ino sniffed.

"Are you going to give me a turn or what?" Sakura asked grumpily. "I need a spotter, too."

There was a scramble to accommodate her. "Ne, Sakura-chan, do you need me to take some weight off for - OW!"

"No, thank you," Sakura smiled sweetly.

Sasuke grunted something that could not be heard, and which Sakura ignored. There was a short, silent argument about spotters, which Naruto won - probably because he was way more invested in it than Sasuke was.

"I won't let you get hurt, Sakura-chan!" he declared.

Ino's lips started to curl into a little smile, which was when Shikamaru remembered that she was on the dance sports team with Sakura, and they used this gym for practice.

"This is going to be troublesome," he predicted.

"Did she just bench seventy kilos?" asked one of the other students in a strained voice.

"She totally did," said another voice.

There was a pause as the trio rearranged Sakura's weights.

"Hmm," she said. "I think..." and she tapped her chin before adding another twenty kilos.

"That's a _lot_," muttered a familiar voice - ah, Kiba. He had stopped paying attention to his curls and was watching Sakura now. He was grouped with Shino and Hinata.

"Statistically it would be unusual for her to be capable of bench pressing such a weight," Shino said.

"I... I think she can do it," Hinata murmured. Another of the dance sports girls. Hmm.

She did.

Somebody gave a low whistle.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's amazing," Naruto said brightly. Sasuke looked... less pleased. No prizes for guessing why, Shikamaru supposed.

Everybody paused when she added another thirty.

"Ah...S-Sakura-chan," said Naruto in an uncertain voice. "Are you -"

"Sakura," that was Sasuke, low and flat. "I understand you want to impress everyone, but that might not be -"

"Are you going to spot for me or not?" she demanded.

Both of the boys fell silent.

Ino laughed delightedly.

Naruto took up his position a little nervously, but he needn't have worried - she lifted it There was a low murmur as more people started paying attention.

By the time the bell went, nobody except Sakura was lifting.

Which suited Shikamaru just fine, really.

* * *

"Ne, teme," said Naruto slowly, several periods later.

"What," said Sasuke, in his patented getting-tired-of-your-shit-Uzumaki voice, which was kind of identical to the voice he used _oh every time Naruto spoke to him._

Naruto, with the ease of practice, ignored it. "She can bench press _both of us_," he said in a low voice. "At the same time."

Sasuke blinked.

He looked at the tiny form of the girl walking just in front of them. Pink hair. Skinny arms. Soft skin.

_Huh._

As he was processing that, she glanced over her shoulder. There was an amusement in her expression that told him she'd overheard Naruto's comment. Gracefully, she didn't mention it. "Are you guys coming or not?"

Sasuke grunted and hurried his steps.

* * *

Disclaimer: I never did weights in high school. I don't really understand lifting weights in high school, but this fic comes to you by way of a tumblr prompt, so, you know: whatever.

My tumblr is over at **tozettewrites**, if you want to find me there.


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